Studies have found that women are less likely to ask for a raise than men and more willing to discount their freelance pricing when asked.

Many of us haven’t learned how to advocate for ourselves and charge what we’re worth, launching us into what feels like a perpetual feast or famine mode.

Because of the power of running an online business, we have more control over our financial health and success, but many women feel more guilty and ashamed of their finances than ever before.

Why is this happening?

And, more importantly, how do we reverse it?

Let’s peel the curtain back and talk about money, without the shame or the cringe.

We can’t thrive as a community if we aren’t willing to talk about the topics that affect our businesses and lives every day.

Our first step is to open up a conversation about what money mindsets are.

Scarcity vs. abundance money mindsets

You may have heard entrepreneurs break down money mindsets into two distinct categories: abundance mindsets and scarcity mindsets. These terms are frequently used by top money mindset coaches, but what do they actually mean?

Most people learn to approach money from a scarcity mindset at a young age. With a mindset of scarcity, you may believe that money is hard to earn or there simply isn’t enough money to go around. Since you perceive there to be a lack of resources available to you, you’ll frame your mindset around unhealthy habits that promote scarcity thought patterns.

How can this affect our spending and saving? If you grew up in a household where money was hard to come by, it could cause you to act in scarcity in different ways.

One person may spend the money as quickly as they can because they don’t believe they will have it for long, while another may save and hoard the money because they don’t believe it will ever come back to them. Although these two reactions are different, they both stem from a similar belief inside their scarcity mindset.

Here are other thoughts patterns that exist when you have a scarcity mindset:

“I’ll never have enough money to do _____”

“Money is always tight in my house.”

“Maybe I should take on this client project, even though I don’t think I’ll enjoy it.”

“I don’t know where my next source of income is coming from which scares me.”

“My debt will always loom over me so I can never live the life I want.”

“I don’t want to log into my bank account to see where my balance is.”

“I don’t like or love money. I sometimes hate it.”

The scarcity mindset is all too common in the women entrepreneur community. When we don’t know what our work and expertise are worth or don’t have the confidence to reverse our mindsets, we’ll cheat ourselves out of business growth that can be ours with an abundance money mindset.

Training your mind to come from an abundance money mindset can be difficult, but it is one of the greatest investments you can make in your personal growth as an entrepreneur. (If you are in Bay Area, you should come to Manifest Live 2019 with us to learn about money mindsets and manifesting your dream life!)

Having an abundance money mindset allows you to make decisions from a place of worth, security, and stability. It helps you nurture the belief that there are enough resources for everyone. While you may hear this phrase used often in the business community, a rare number of women actually believe it.

When you are cultivating an abundance money mindset, your thoughts may look more like this:

“Money comes easily to me. I don’t need to toil for my money.”

“I am a good manager and steward of the money that flows through me.”

“Saying no to this project that doesn’t feel right frees up space for a project that does.”

“There is always enough money for me when I am doing purposeful work.”

“I don’t have to get this done. I get to do this.”

Do you still have questions about your money mindset? Maybe you aren’t convinced that shifting from a place of scarcity to abundance will make a big difference in the way you run your business and live your life.

We want to give you a few more reasons why paying attention to your money mindset is one of the first but most important steps you’ll make on your journey to better financial health as a women entrepreneur.

Charge what you’re worth (and with confidence!)

As women, we still earn up to 20% less than our male counterparts. It seems like a good time to also mention that Sheryl Sandberg said in her book Lean In that women need to be 70% qualified for a job in order to earn the position when men only have to be 20% qualified for it. *cue the eye rolls*

Instead of letting that percentage demotivate us, we can use it as fuel to boldly ask for payment that fits the project or collaboration that a brand is presenting to you.

This is true no matter if you work with brands on paid sponsorships, take on freelance projects, create your own digital products, or run a side business that you hope to take full-time within the next year. You alone hold the power to charge what you’re worth.

Learning to confidently walk into client presentations and partnership meetings knowing what amount of money makes the project worth it to you is invaluable. In order to know how to price your products or services, you’ll want to keep your desired salary and personal expenses in mind as well as your business profits and expenses.

If you need assistance with determining your pricing, here are a few resources that can help:

Set financial goals that you’ll actually stick to

When is the last time you set a concrete financial goal? We’re not talking about the times when you think “Wow, it would be really nice to go to Hawaii right now.” (Although we can totally get on board for that dream! Just save us a cocktail when you get there.)

When we talk about concrete financial goals, we are referring to the goals that you intentionally write down and break into smaller action steps in order to get there. Without written financial goals, we may be more tempted to spend our money on things we aren’t intentionally saving for.

Have you always wanted to take a vacation somewhere with your girlfriends? Maybe you’ve wanted to invest in a piece of technology or equipment that will help you learn a new skill. Maybe you want to pay off your student loans so you can focus on other savings goals.

No matter what your financial goals are, you can start making positive moves in the direction of your dreams when you have them written down. You can also set a timeframe for when you would like to accomplish the goal. The deadline you set will help you break down what you need to do each week, month, or year in order to successfully get to your financial goal.

If financial goal planning feels overwhelming right now, try to start with a smaller financial goal. If you want to save for a backpacking vacation all around Europe, maybe you can start with saving for the flight there. If you want to save for your wedding, start with saving for your wedding dress. When you reach smaller financial goals, it will help you gain confidence in reaching bigger ones.

If you want to dig into financial goal planning, here are a few of our favorite resources:

Take control of your financial future

Have you ever felt like you need to own something specific and invest in a certain experience in order to reach success? Most of us walk around spending money on things we don’t intend to purchase because we are swayed by what culture says we should desire.

This can leave us with high consumer debt and an uncertain future. It’s important to say that spending money isn’t a bad thing at all. It’s more about what you decide to spend money on.

Think about the last five things you purchased. Did those things spark joy? Do they feel aligned with your core values? Would you purchase them again if you had the opportunity to do it all over again? Your answers to these questions will tell you how connected your spending is to your overall financial goals.

You’re the boss when it comes to your business and your finances. The more comfortable and confident you are in how you handle your finances, the more your business will grow. Invest in your financial wellbeing and don’t keep your eyes off of the prize. (Our prize looks a lot like tropical vacations with no email inbox access… #thedream)

Pursue multiple income streams

When you became an entrepreneur, it was probably because you wanted to be your own boss, choose your own projects, and not having a ceiling to how much money you could earn. These are our motivations too!

However, the problem many women entrepreneurs have in their first few years of building their business is that they put all of their eggs in one basket. Not literally, but they do it every time they focus on one or two income streams to give them the bulk of their income.

We see this happen a lot in the freelance world and even with online educators who only have one group coaching program or product they sell. While a simplified approach like this may seem better at a first glance, it’s not good to expect so much stability from one source of income.

Since our scarcity money mindsets are often fueled by our perceived lack of security, one main income stream will not help you act in an attitude of abundance. Instead, you might want to add multiple streams of income to your business model to help you create more security and pathways to receive resources.

We often call this “diversified income” in the entrepreneurial community. This means that money will come from a wide array of sources so if one dries up, you will have the stability of the others that are performing well to get you through seasonal changes.

What kind of income streams should you think about introducing into your business model? It completely depends on what will perform best for you, but here are a few ideas to help you get started.

Digital Products: Online courses, workbooks, ebooks, oh my! There are so many options when it comes to the kinds of digital products you can add as an income stream. The best place to start is to define your niche, understand what your target audience is looking for, and offer solutions to key problems they have.

Freelance Income: If you want to be a service provider who offers one-on-one or group services, you can take on a handful of clients for additional freelance income. Keep in mind that you may want to introduce passive income streams so you can have money that works for you. Otherwise, your money will always be tied to how many hours of work you put in.

Affiliate Marketing: This is one of the best ways to earn income because it is almost completely hands-off! With affiliate marketing, you can sell other people’s products for a commission of the purchases bought through your affiliate link. This allows you to monetize your free content and create additional income from products you would already have been promoting.

If you are interested in experimenting more with affiliate marketing, we have a list of affiliate programs that might be worth exploring. We also have an affiliate program for our Get Found Stock community! You can start earning money in a few clicks. Let us help you get set up!

Search the Blog

About Us

We’re on a mission to help female creative entrepreneurs take back their time by helping them get out of the social media time suck!